Colonial Fans

Scores

Tuesday, February 14

George Mason 62, VCU 61

Drexel 63, William & Mary 61

Georgia State 67, James Madison 64

Northeastern 70, Towson 51

Old Dominion 81 UNC-Wilmington 64

Delaware 71, Hofstra 57

Friday, February 17

VCU 77 Northern Iowa 68

Saturday, February 18

Drexel 69, Cleveland State 49

Stony Brook 76, Northeastern 69

VMI 73, William & Mary 65

Delaware 68, Hampton 64

Detroit 82, James Madison 70

Manhattan 79, UNC-Wilmington 64

New Hampshire 72, Towson 58

George Mason 75, Lamar 71

Hofstra 81, Siena 69

Old Dominion 73, Missouri State 67

Georgia State 82, UTSA 71

The two Colonial Athletic Association teams that have created such indelible March Madness memories over the past six college basketball seasons produced a game on Tuesday night that felt every bit like an NCAA Tournament classic. Rich in energy and packed with drama, the tussle between the George Mason Patriots – heroes of the 2006 NCAA Tournament – and the Virginia Commonwealth Rams – co-stars along with Butler in the 2011 event – captivated a crowd on the GMU campus in Fairfax, ‘virginia. When VCU broke a 51-all tie, however, and gained a 56-51 lead in the final three minutes, that same George Mason crowd had to feel very worried. This VCU team does not have the exact same roster composition of the 2011 Final Four squad, but it still has some of those prime performers, and so when the Rams did their 2011-like thing to storm in front by six points, well, the outlook had to be viewed as bleak for the Patriots and first-year head coach Paul Hewitt.

Almost three minutes later, it grew even more bleak, as Virginia Commonwealth hit enough foul shots to establish a 60-56 lead with only 10 ticks left on the clock. Four points in 10 seconds? Who overcomes a deficit like that?

Well, that’s precisely when the spirit of 2006 and the magic accompanying GMU’s run to the Final Four were summoned. George Mason’s Vertrail Vaughns nailed a three with four seconds left to trim the deficit to one point, 60-59. The Patriots fouled VCU’s Briante Weber with three seconds left. Weber split a pair of foul shots, but with only three seconds to go, George Mason had to cover 94 feet and shoot within that period of time.

No problem. GMU’s Sherrod Wright let fly from 30 feet from the left wing. The running shot just happened to splash right through the twine, setting off an insane celebration inside the Patriot Center on the GMU campus. Virginia Commonwealth players were stunned, but for the men of Mason, it was a night that will never be forgotten. NCAA Tournament hopes can take a backseat for just a little while; a moment frozen in time is what will characterize this most recent week of CAA basketball.

In the BracketBusters event, the Colonial picked up wins at the top, as Drexel, VCU and George Mason all took care of business. The middle and lower tiers of the league got beaten up, but NCAA Tournament bids are claimed by the top teams, so as the CAA Tournament approaches, there’s still hope that this league could get more than one squad into the Big Dance.

Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer